The nation is mourning the demise of former Finance Minister and BJP lawmaker Arun Jaitley who passed away on Saturday, August 24, 2019, at the age of 66. The senior BJP lawmaker who was undergoing treatment in Delhi's AIIMS hospital and succumbed to death suffering prolonged illness. After the hospital made the official announcement of the same, celebrities and political leaders have grieved the loss. Several Bollywood stars including Ajay Devgn, Siddhart Malhotra, Riteish Deshmukh, among others paid tribute to Arun Jaitley on social media.

Ajay Devgn pays homage to Arun Jaitley

Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn paid homage to Arun Jaitley following his demise. The actor in a Twitter post said that he is deeply saddened by the passing away of the veteran political leader. Ajay Devgn further talked about how he used to admire Arun Jaitley's dynamic vision for India. He further stated that he is happy to have interacted with the BJP lawmaker and extended condolences to his family.

Here's the post:

Deeply saddened by Arun Jaitleyji’s demise. Admired his dynamic vision for India; he was a leader I'm happy to have interacted with. My thoughts are with his family in their hour of grief. RIP Arunji🙏

Riteish Deshmukh extends condolences

Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh, who is also the son of former CM of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh, also paid tribute to the departed soul. Extending condolences to Arun Jaitley's family & loved ones, the actor wrote, "deeply saddened by the passing away of Shri Arun Jaitley ji... deepest condolences to the family & loved ones."

Siddhart Malhotra mourns Arun Jaitley's demise

Bollywood actor Siddhart Malhotra mourned the death of former Finance Minister. Paying homage to the BJP lawmaker in a Twitter post, Siddhart Malhotra said that the Arun Jaitley's demise 'has left a void in the country' and extended condolences to the family.

Take a look:

Rest in peace #ArunJaitley. Your demise has left a void in the country. My prayers are with the family and loved ones.

Arun Jaitley battling illness

Arun Jaitley, 66, was battling prolonged illness and was admitted to AIIMS on August 9th this year. He was visited by several top leaders of the country since his admission. President Kovind visited AIIMS on the day of his admission to the hospital, PM Modi visited him immediately after his return to the country from Bhutan. Union Minister Home Minister Amit Shah was also present in the hospital on August 11.

Arun Jaitley's political journey

Arun Jaitley had been a part of active politics since from the time he was a student. He was a member of the ABVP and served as the President of the Delhi University Students Union in 1974. Like a number of his contemporaries in the BJP, Arun Jaitley was put under preventive custody for fighting the Emergency as part of the JP movement, the clampdown on him lasting 19 months. Later, he rose to become the president of the Delhi ABVP and its All India Secretary.

Arun Jaitley is best known for having served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs in the first Narendra Modi government has also held portfolios of Defence and Information and Broadcasting. It was Arun Jaitley who rolled out the GST in 2017 which saw India becoming a unified market for goods and services for the first time, and was also the first chairman of the GST council, is widely credited for forging consensus leading to the Constitutional amendment that eventually passed the GST Bill.